I just switched over my blog with a lot of Tim's help. I am now going to be blogging at www.danaschmoyer.com I figured if I will be blogging for a while I want a better domain to give to people. We have spent most of the day working on the template with Tim changing the pictures to my photography and pics of us. If yo refresh the page it'll change the picture of Tim and I. How cool! If you are signed up to get updates by email you should be fine, and switched over with it.

I also put my newest post on www.danaschmoyer.com, so enjoy the new sight! Some things will probably be added and changed in the next month, so stick around!

I went to the Christian bookstore in town to check the price and look at an idea for a Christmas present for someone. I checked, then got totally side tracked in the book section of the store.I really have a desire to teach girls and help them make godly decisions in their life as they struggle with surviving jr. high and high school. And to help them make godly decisions when it comes to boys. In highschool someone gave me the book Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall. I didn't read it until college. Through BSM (Baptist Student Ministry) I joined a small group of girls that did weekly Bible studies. At one point we read through Lady in Waiting together and discussed our thoughts of it. I gave my book to a friend after the study for her to read on her own, and am now wanting a copy of my own again.

At the bookstore I didn't find it, but I found "The Young Lady in Waiting," by the same author. As far as I can tell it looks pretty much like the same book, just a cuter cover to attract the teens. I have been thinking about putting together an all girl small group during the week and studying this or something like it. I was thinking the copy I read might be a little old for them, but I am so excited to find a teen version! I almost bought it today, but would like to find a copy to borrow and read to see if I should follow through.

I have been thinking about waiting until my small group is done with confirmation to do this in depth girl study, meaning starting next Fall we could do it, but I think some of the older girls in the youth group could benefit from it. A girl at school that I work with has really got me thinking today and yesterday on this, really wanting to reach these girls before they graduate and are on their own.

I also found some books that look like they'd be great for me to read when I am finished with, "A Woman's Walk with God" by Elizabeth George. (Which I highly recommend you read if you have not..and you're a woman.) They are, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World," and "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver. I read the back of them, and the 2nd one sounds really good! Every Tuesday evening for over a month now we have had a small group of adults in our house to study the 40 days of Purpose. Every evening when I am still trying to get things in order before people come and they show up while I try to finish something, I always think of the story in Luke 10 about Jesus going into Mary and Martha's home, reminding me to stop working and build a relationship with the people in my home.

Back on the topic of teens, there was a book that caught my eye first today and that is, "Secret Keeper: The Delicate Power of Modesty" by Dannah Gresh. This is another huge passion I have with girls. As a teen I didn't understand how much power there is with dressing modest. I remember being so mad that my dad made me change into longer shorts before youth group one night trying to explain why I shouldn't wear short shorts, but I wasn't willing to listen and learn. Now that I am married, Tim has really opened my eyes to the world of boys, and I would like to pass some of this wisdom to the girls in our church. If you have girls of your own or work with them, this website looks like a good resource, I haven't looked at it deeply, but it looks like it'd be good.

God has totally surrounded me by the love of kids lately. Probably my favorite part of work right now is bus duty, 'cause at the end of each day I get to see pre-school and elementary kids. Last week one pre-school girl decided to sit next to me, lay her head in my lap, and wrap my arm around her holding it tight. It was such a simple thing, but I loved it. Kids just amaze me and the love they can give is beautiful.

This same girl has a brother in 1st grade that about once a week decides to sit by me. I find it kind of funny when the kids choose to sit by me, because that spot is usually where kids sit if they aren't choosing to sit correctly on the bus on their own. Anyways, so this boy didn't ride at all last week, and got on today and I said, "Hey! I haven't seen you in a while, how was your week!?" Without saying anything he just threw himself at me and gave me such a big hug! And a little funny note ... when I was talking with another student I over heard this boy talk to another who was asking him why he was sitting by me, and he said, "I am going to marry her." Oh the sweet innocent days of being a child.

This past weekend I really enjoyed getting to see my niece and nephews too. They are growing up so fast and are just tons of fun to be with. Noah and I had a great time sitting in the back of the car on our rides to Sonic, and Ruby and Ti were just so cuddly Saturday night at their house.

I have taken a little break from the Fruit of the Spirit. Don't worry, I will get back into it, it is just taking me a little time to get through joy. I will though, and soon I will be writing more about the Fruit of the Spirit.

I just got home from staying with David, Adrienne, and Noah this weekend. Tim left Thursday evening at 7pm for his weekend in California and wont get back 'til early Tuesday morning, so I went down to visit family. I am very glad I did because not only did I have fun hanging out with everyone, but it helped me not to mope around our house all weekend missing Tim. I still miss Tim like crazy and had a really hard night last night, but I think it could've been worst. I got to talk to him for almost 30 minutes this morning which really helped. I think I wouldn't be doing so bad if he had more breaks and time to call me to talk. If we could connect more while he is gone that would help a ton.

Friday I drove down to Dan and Maggie's where I got to see Ti, Ruby and Noah and hang out with Dan, David and Adrienne for the evening while Maggie worked. Then Saturday we went to Cabela's with the kids and got Sonic. That evening Adrienne Maggie and I watched the kids while the guys went to a volleyball game. And today was a great day to visit their church. Dan and David both did the music, playing piano, guitar and singing. And David and Adrienne both told their testimony as part of becoming a member of their church. I am grateful I got to be there for such a fun part of belonging to a church.

Before Tim left for California he asked me if I would like to be a guest blogger for him writing tips and advice for youth pastor's wives. I thought that would be a great idea and really exciting until he left for the weekend and I have no clue how to handle a husband being gone. This is the first time Tim has gone on a trip and I stayed behind. I feel like I need to be reading someone else's advice on how to be a good wife and not be so homesick for my husband. Maybe after Tim comes back home I'll see about writing it, but right now I am in no shape to give another wife advice.

NYWC 2005 Nashville, TN - At the end of mine and Tim's 8 month break from dating. We went with a group of youth workers from our church.

NYWC 2007 St. Louis, MO - 2nd convention as a married couple hanging out with some guys from Dare 2 Share.

NYWC 2006 Austin, TX - First convention as a married couple! Our church's funds were low so Marko comped our way to be able to go.

Tim just left to start his way to Sacramento, California for NYWC. This is the first time that I have stayed home from it, and the first time Tim has left for something more than a day. I wont see him again until Tuesday when I wake up, unless I wake up at like 3am when he gets home Tuesday morning.

I'm excited for Tim to get to go as an official blogger for the convention. I'm pretty bummed that I'm not getting to experience this with him, but we sent a male youth worker from our church that I think will benefit more from the training than I would. This will be his first time, and it would've been my 4th.

Also, I found out after the church had already bought Tim's and the youth worker's ticket that I was asked if I would come and be an official blogger. Man! If I had known that ahead of time, or in enough time, I would've been right on that! But again, this will be more beneficial for the youth worker joining him. I just need to stop being selfish.

Although I'll be missing Tim a ton, I am excited to go down and hang out with Tim's sister-in-law and brother and nephews and niece. I'm excited to spend more time getting to know each other, and keeping busy not thinking about Tim the whole time he is gone. I'll go down tomorrow after work and stay through Sunday afternoon. I wouldn't have been able to stay home that whole time, so I am very thankful to have family close by to help me out!

The summer of 2005 Tim and I were not dating, we were in the midst of an 8 month break in our relationship. And that same summer one of my closest friends I ever had died in a car accident. This has been the hardest time in my life to date. Tim was the one I wanted to go to and try to to grieve the loss of my friend, but couldn't. God did amazing things with me that summer though. Kim Mister, a friend of mine through Tim gave me the devotional "A Woman's Walk with God: Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit" by Elizabeth George (the one I've mentioned in previous posts). The day I found out about my friend Aaron's death was in the middle of God teaching me realjoy. I learned it! In the midst of so much pain and sadness I had a tremendous amount of joy. God continued to teach me about all his wonderful fruit and I was happy with how I was growing in God.

I feel like since then I have taken God for granted. Tim and I got back together, I could see God's hand in that. Tim and I got married in 3 months. God's hand was all over that! We searched for 7 months with God wrestling with where God wanted to take us next (to Minnesota) and that was an awesome experience too. I have seen God’s work in our lives many times with bringing us to the North, through people and events that have happened here. Everything has been wonderful and I feel really blessed, but I still feel like Christ should be more apparent in me and the Fruit of the Spirit hanging all over me.

I tried to start reading the chapter on joy last night. All of a sudden I got overwhelmed thinking about Aaron and what a hard lesson it was to learn joy the first time. I just started begging God to not have such a hard lesson to learn this time through, with learning about joy at this moment in my life. I don't think I could handle a loss right now. Just thinking about that chapter and moment in my life chokes me up. I will wait another night before I try to read this chapter. Please shower me in prayers as I come before God and refresh myself on his true joy for my life.

I just finished reading the chapter on Love. Elizabeth George spoke about constantly going to God to be filled with his love. Some days it is easy to go all day loving everyone you come in contact with. Some days it's hard, and we need to remember to constantly keep on going back to God for love, even if it means every minute of the day. The only way I can show Christ's love to others is if I am full of Christ's love to give.

Luke 6:32 "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!"Luke 6:35-36 "Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate."

I have found in the last month or so I have even failed to love those who show love to me. I had to go to Tim the other day and apologize to him for not giving him the love I should from Christ. I have been self-centered and wanting my own way, and have been lazy! I have felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart letting me know that I should treat Tim better. I apologized for not being the wife he needs. And Tim, bless his heart encouraged me telling me that I am doing a wonderful job at being his wife and that it didn't cross his mind that I wasn't. But in my heart I knew that I should be doing more.

Am I the only one, or do others find it easier to show love to those you come in contact throughout the day than it is to show love to those you live with? Why is that? Is it because I know those who love me know the real me and I am comfortable to let my true feelings and emotions show? And I want others to think highly of me, so I put on a facade?

I know it wont be easy, but I am praying like crazy for God to teach me the love he wants me to give others, especially Tim. And I know that once I am able to give Tim the love that Christ will give me, then it will show on the outside to the people I come in contact outside of my house. Most of all I really want to be a great wife for Tim, coming along side him supporting him in ministry.

In order to do this I will have to constantly go back to God and get refilled with his love. John 15:5 says, "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." And 15:9 & 10 say, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love."

There is no doubt that I can't do this on my own. I must constantly seek after God and to ask for his love and help to show his love. Wow this makes me excited! God loves me so much that he wants me to remain in him, and by doing that he will shower me with the Fruit of the Spirit.

For the longest time now my heart has been longing to grow the Fruit of the Spirit. I remember walking around our yard in the spring to the 5 apple trees on our property and pruning the branches that were dead, and again this fall taking off an apple if two were growing on the same bunch. I had John 15:4-5 (or of what I could remember of it) playing in my head over and over picturing God walking around me and pruning off the things in my life that are dead and not letting me thrive, and making room for the fruit he wants me to have in my life.

Now I started thinking about this in the spring, and am sad to say I really haven't dedicated time to really devote myself to letting God develop fruit in my life. I feel like I have been in a stalemate and not really meaning to, but I know that if I really really wanted it, I'd be able to tell. Right?

I got out my devotional about the Fruit of the Spirit and have started reading it. Already I have felt a sense of peace that God is happy with me noticing a dryness and now being thirsty to go all out wanting to get deep with him. I am really excited to see what God has in plan for me, and watch him prune me like I did with the apple trees in mine and Tim's yard.